BOB JAMES, Grammy-Winning Keyboardist/Composer/Arranger and Jazz Fusion/Smooth Jazz Pioneer Joins the Lineup for the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Presented by Citizens on Saturday, September 16, 3:30 pm, at Highmark Stadium
James Is the 2023 PIJF Luminary Award Recipient
PITTSBURGH, PA, July 25, 2023 – Keyboardist/composer/arranger Bob James, who has shaped modern music for an astonishing six decades with over 60 albums as a leader, has been added to the lineup of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF) Presented by Citizens on Saturday, September 16, 3:30 pm, at Highmark Stadium, 510 W. Station Square Drive.
Joining iconic musicians and previous honorees Ron Carter (2022) and Chaka Khan (2021), Bob James will receive the 2023 PIJF Luminary Award for his trailblazing work in jazz and jazz fusion and for being one of the most sampled jazz artists in the 50-year history of hip-hop. Two of his most funky, CTI Records compositions, “Nautilus” and “Take Me to the Mardi Gras,” are some of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop. James’ music has caught the attention of Run DMC, Slick Rick, Naughty by Nature, Eric B. and Rakim, Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest, to name just a few.
James was a first generation jazz fusionist in the early 70s, whose trademarked, crisp electric piano and sophisticated swinging arrangements created his classic, critically-acclaimed CTI albums that included One, Two Three and BJ4, which laid the foundation for contemporary and smooth jazz genres in the 80s and 90s. Other James highlights include “Angela,” his theme to the sitcom Taxi, his collaboration albums with Earl Klugh and David Sanborn and his co-founding of the smooth jazz supergroup Fourplay with drummer Harvey Mason, guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Nathan East in 1990. James’ latest recording, Feel Like Making Live! showcases the keyboardist in an intimate trio setting that foreshadows the intense, infectious and ingenious music he’ll bring to Pittsburgh.
Born December 25, 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, James started piano lessons at the age of four. He attended the University of Michigan and the Berklee College of Music. James was discovered by Quincy Jones at the 1962 Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. One year later, James recorded the LP, Bold New Conceptions, an avant-garde project produced by Jones on the Mercury label. James later moved to New York City, where he worked with producer Creed Taylor, saxophonists Grover Washington, Jr., Stanley Turrentine and trumpeter Maynard Ferguson before he joined Taylor’s CTI label.
A musician of broad tastes and abilities, James has recorded the classical works of Scarlatti, Rameau and Bach, and his music has been performed by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Simply put, Bob James is a renaissance man of music, who shows no signs of slowing down.
Tickets to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Presented by Citizens are on sale now at https://pittsburghjazzfest.org
The 13th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival presented by Citizens (PIJF) and produced by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center returns to AWAACC and Highmark Stadium September 14 – 17, 2023. In addition to Bob James, artists include Gregory Porter, Ledisi, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter, Nicholas Payton, Orrin Evans, José James, PJ Morton, Somi, Keyon Harrold with special guests Pharoahe Monch and Mumu Fresh, Madison McFerrin, Christie Dashiell, Chelsea Baratz, Howie Alexander and more.
FUNDING
Major support for AWAACC’s operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Heinz Endowments and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).
Citizens is the Presenting Sponsor for the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
Additional PIJF sponsorship support is provided by UPMC, UPMC Health Plan, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Comcast NBC Universal and Xfinity. The Presenting Sponsor, Libation Station Tent, is Bacardi. Support for the Uhuru Jazz Sessions is provided by the Doris Duke Foundation.
AWAACC’s programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, please visit awaacc.org.
CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $226.7 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and more than 1,200 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today. www.awaacc.org.
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James was a first generation jazz fusionist in the early 70s, whose trademarked, crisp electric piano and sophisticated swinging arrangements created his classic, critically-acclaimed CTI albums that included One, Two Three and BJ4, which laid the foundation for contemporary and smooth jazz genres in the 80s and 90s. Other James highlights include “Angela,” his theme to the sitcom Taxi, his collaboration albums with Earl Klugh and David Sanborn and his co-founding of the smooth jazz supergroup Fourplay with drummer Harvey Mason, guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Nathan East in 1990. James’ latest recording, Feel Like Making Live! showcases the keyboardist in an intimate trio setting that foreshadows the intense, infectious and ingenious music he’ll bring to Pittsburgh.
Born December 25, 1939 in Marshall, Missouri, James started piano lessons at the age of four. He attended the University of Michigan and the Berklee College of Music. James was discovered by Quincy Jones at the 1962 Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. One year later, James recorded the LP, Bold New Conceptions, an avant-garde project produced by Jones on the Mercury label. James later moved to New York City, where he worked with producer Creed Taylor, saxophonists Grover Washington, Jr., Stanley Turrentine and trumpeter Maynard Ferguson before he joined Taylor’s CTI label.
A musician of broad tastes and abilities, James has recorded the classical works of Scarlatti, Rameau and Bach, and his music has been performed by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Simply put, Bob James is a renaissance man of music, who shows no signs of slowing down.
Tickets to the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Presented by Citizens are on sale now at https://pittsburghjazzfest.org
The 13th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival presented by Citizens (PIJF) and produced by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center returns to AWAACC and Highmark Stadium September 14 – 17, 2023. In addition to Bob James, artists include Gregory Porter, Ledisi, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter, Nicholas Payton, Orrin Evans, José James, PJ Morton, Somi, Keyon Harrold with special guests Pharoahe Monch and Mumu Fresh, Madison McFerrin, Christie Dashiell, Chelsea Baratz, Howie Alexander and more.
FUNDING
Major support for AWAACC’s operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Heinz Endowments and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).
Citizens is the Presenting Sponsor for the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
Additional PIJF sponsorship support is provided by UPMC, UPMC Health Plan, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Comcast NBC Universal and Xfinity. The Presenting Sponsor, Libation Station Tent, is Bacardi. Support for the Uhuru Jazz Sessions is provided by the Doris Duke Foundation.
AWAACC’s programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, please visit awaacc.org.
CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $226.7 billion in assets as of June 30, 2022. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and more than 1,200 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a non-profit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh’s cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 119,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today. www.awaacc.org.
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